I froze. The dagger shook.
My teeth clamped down on my lip. A bitter metal taste rushed my tongue. “King Ardyn isn’t my father. I’m not just human. I’m fae.”
“No. That’s not possible.” His hand wrapped around mine.
“Please. You need to let me go. Don’t take this from me.”
The way he looked at me shifted. Either he couldn’t believe it, or he couldn’t accept it.
I would never forget that look.
His hand slipped from mine. He backed up without another word.
“Pretend you never found me.” Tears trickled down to my lips.
With the dagger at my side, I stepped back. The golden light washed over me.
Welcome home.
Lythira has been waiting for you.
The voice acknowledged me one final time. Then the divide fell silent.
Lavender rolled through the vibrant glade; the scent more alive than before. The divide’s hum trailed off. He was on his knees. Agony etched into every laugh line.
I reached for him. My hand collided with the divide. Its energy pushed back on me—firm but gentle.
“I’m so sorry.” My words echoed off thedivide. “Thank you for always being my friend.” I didn’t know if he heard me, but his eyes softened.
Cael never feared the truth, but something shifted within him the moment he knew. Maybe he’d never understand the decision I made.
A white haze settled.
Everything I ever knew vanished.
Chapter 7
With each step I took, the land pulsed beneath me as if it were a breathing being. The dagger slid easily back into its sheath.
My mother always returned from her visits to the meadow with bundles of lavender for me. She called me herprincess of the flowers.I never knew why, but always wondered if it was because I enjoyed every bloom as much as she did.
I felt her in the wind. It brushed against my cheek. Salt-tinged tears slipped onto my lips.
I grabbed a lavender bunch by its stems and ripped it free. When I looked down again, only a sea of lavender remained. It was just as lush as before, as if I had never tampered with it at all. It didn’t seem possible. I shouldn’t have been holding them at all, yet I watched the flowers drop from my hands back into the meadow.
Shimmering water rippled across the pond as I knelt beside it. Water trickled from my cupped hands as I splashed my face.My golden eyes were glowing back at me. I traced the edge of my ears. They were slightly pointed.
The fabric of my riding gown caught the water dripping from my hands, before I pulled the book free from my satchel.
“Did traveling through the divide change me?”
The words appeared quickly.
You see who you truly are now.
Grass crunched behind me—I froze beside the book. The horizon revealed no one. Weathered pages caught on my satchel as I tried to cram it back inside.
Her tales were all the knowledge I had of this strange world. Now I would have to navigate it alone.
